The most ethical administration ever

Joseph Farah is founder, editor and chief executive officer of WND. He is the author or co-author of 13 books that have sold more than 5 million copies, including his latest, "The Restitution of All Things: Israel, Christians, and the End of the Age." Before launching WND as the first independent online news outlet in 1997, he served as editor in chief of major market dailies including the legendary Sacramento Union.

Want a good laugh? Go back and check out the very first action of the
Clinton administration Jan. 20, 1993 — the very first executive order.

Just hours after being sworn into office, Clinton issued an order on
ethical commitments by executive branch appointees. It required every
senior appointee in his administration since to sign a contract
pledging, among other things, the following:

That they will refrain from lobbying during the five years after they
leave government any agency where they have served or which they have
had any responsibility for as a member of the White House staff;

That they will refrain from engaging in any activity on behalf of any
foreign government for five years after they leave government service;

Refrain from representing any foreign government or foreign
corporation in any way within five years of being involved in a trade
negotiation on behalf of the U.S. government;

Quite a high standard the president set back then, wasn’t it? Can’t
argue with those rules. But, of course, as usual with President Clinton,
there’s a loophole written into the order that is so big you could drive
a Chinese aircraft carrier through it. What about those working on
behalf of foreign governments while they are employed in the executive
branch?

Was this an oversight or an intentional omission? The question must
be asked, because the most serious ethical, moral and political offense
of the Clinton administration has been the selling out of American
security interests for commercial and political gain. Boiled down to its
essence, this is the heart of the high-crimes-and-misdemeanors case
against Bill Clinton and his entourage. If he was a paid agent of
Beijing, and I’m not certain he isn’t, he could not have helped position
the Chinese dictatorship and its military and political establishment
any better, any more expertly, any more effectively.

Forget Monica Lewinsky, though, as a security-cleared Defense
Department appointee, she figures into the equation as well. Forget
Kathleen Willey. Forget Travelgate. Forget Filegate. Forget the lies and
cover-ups involved in Whitewater. Even the abuses of power obvious in
all of these scandals take a backseat to the serious questions of
loyalty arising from Clinton’s pro-China activities after his campaigns
accepted millions in tainted cash from foreign sources and millions more
from corporations tied to China in business deals and partnerships.

Bill Clinton pledged to preside over the most ethical administration
in the history of the country. That immodest boast should have been a
tip-off of the larceny and treason to come. Who was Clinton to judge his
predecessors of the previous 200+ years? Who was he to even compare
himself with men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham
Lincoln — especially with regard to ethics?

“We just have to be dominated by high standards and clear vision and
we ought to have a good time doing it,” the president told the staff on
his first day in office. At least he’s kept one promise — about having
a good time. “The ethics rules that we have put forward will guarantee
that the members of this administration will be looking out for the
American people and not for themselves.” Guarantee? Can I get my money
back?

I guess, maybe, I should look on the bright side. In the year 2001,
by the authority of his own executive order, Clinton’s coddling of
foreign tyrants will have to stop — assuming, of course, he leaves
office as scheduled.

However, with Bill Clinton, it’s never safe to make even the most
reasonable assumptions.